[Craig Seeman]

MPEG2 is a better codec. In the later days of VCD I believe there was an MPEG2 variant called S-VCD.

You could try using a Dual Layer DVD but then there’s working out the break point between layers and the risk that some players might not be able to handle it.

[Craig Seeman]

Note that the COW has a most excellent Episode forum.

[Craig Seeman]

I used Compressor. I don’t remember if I ended up using 2 Pass VBR or CBR but I think it was 2 Pass VBR.

I’d suggest testing a small section of about 3 minutes or so (to really see what VBR might do you have to give it some time IMHO).

If you have other compression software such as Episode or Squeeze (and there are others too when it comes to MPEG2) you might want to test them at your targeted low bit rate. It may well challenge some programs.

Cinema Craft plugin for Compressor might be worth the look if you have the budget for it.

[Craig Seeman]

I’ve done it. Quality is subjective but yes it will take a quality hit given the low data rate needed. If you or your client go back to the days when VCDs were common they may find the quality acceptable. If the source is low motion you might be OK. In my case I did it with a 3 plus hour panel discussion which the client wanted on one disc.

[Craig Seeman]

IMHO, if one is a small business in which one must wear many hats, one should have a business model which is based on 20-25 hours of paid work rather than 40 (unless you thinking working to burn out is a productive business model).

Depending on that hats you wear you need time for:
Marketing
Sales
Equipment Maintenance
Education/training
Accounting
Evaluating potential purchases

Just to name a few things off the top of my head. Keep in mind that 20-25/hrs must cover the cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment and software, office supplies, housing, food, utilities, insurance (both health and business), investment in business growth, personal luxuries to keep you sane an motivated.

I won’t claim I’m successful at managing all the above but that’s the goal. Set your rates too low and your setting yourself up for a failed business or burn out.

[Craig Seeman]

[Rafael Amador] “I’m archiving the .mov’s. I don’t see the point of archiving the BPAV. You will need always a camera or a SxS reader near by you to recover you files. “

XDCAM Transfer Tool will read the BPAV and convert to MOV. It’s an extra step but if I need to ever give something to client, Windows user, Mac user without Final Cut Pro, having the BPAV is much more versatile.

[Craig Seeman]

You might find this an interesting read.
https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/hd_video_flash_player.html

[Craig Seeman]

I believe Flash will accept both .mp4 and .mov H264 also.

Squeeze 5 uses .f4v. Make sure you use Format Constraints Adobe Flash F4V

[Craig Seeman]

It’s a DVD-ROM tutorial and it’s specific to Compressor but that may be useful to you if you’re going the FCP/Compressor route.

https://www.rippletraining.com/the_art_of_encoding_with_compressor.html

This DVD is for Squeeze 5
https://www.sorensonmedia.com/pages/?pageID=97

[Craig Seeman]

AVI is a wrapper than can contain any number of codecs inside. Since AVI is a wrapper it certainly wouldn’t be wrapped in Quicktime.

I’ve had no problem editing DV .AVI in Final Cut Pro although it will pop up a warning message.

You really need to find out what’s inside the AVI wrapper.
Can you play/see the video in Quicktime?
Can you use Window/Show Movie Inspector to see what codec it reports?

There are many codecs inside of AVI that require 3rd Party plugins and there are a few which may not have a Quicktime plugin available for it. Some are only available for Windows.

Answer the above questions and maybe I can help you get to the next step.